The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 39

"TIBERIUS!" Rosa screeched, jumping to her feet while her brother was tackled by a peregrine falcon. She was about to leap to his aid when she was pinned to the ground by a great horned owl. Rolling around the grass with the peregrine falcon that had attacked him, Tiberius let out a shriek as the smaller bird's talons dug into his shoulders. Whipping his head around, he bit down on the falcon's right leg. This made his opponent screech in pain. Taking the opportunity, the hawk jumped up to his feet, tossing the falcon off his back. The two birds faced each other, snarling viciously.

"Rip his guts out Flash. Show no mercy," the great horned owl growled, a sinister grin on his face. Rosa struggled to free herself from under his large foot. Yellow eyes narrowing to slits, the peregrine falcon named Flash launched himself forward. Hissing, Tiberius pounced at him. The two birds of prey met one another in the air, talons first. Having gotten a blow to his chest, Tiberius struck back at Flash's left wing. Landing on the ground, the pair snapped at each other. Feathers, brown and gray, were flying in the air. They were soon followed by drops of blood. At last, using the advantage of being much larger, Tiberius pinned Flash to the ground. his foot on the falcon's throat. Before the fight could continue any longer, there was a loud screech nearby. All four birds in the area looked up to find a large bald eagle coming their way, followed by a turkey vulture and an osprey. Knocking the owl off of Rosa, the turkey vulture hissed, "What are you two imbeciles doing?!"

"Pierre, these two are intruding on territory belonging to-" the owl started to reply when the bald eagle stepped in and silenced him, "Striker, Flash. You both remember the Code, correct?" Still trapped underneath Tiberius's foot, Flash glanced off to the side as he mumbled, "Use words before talons..."

"And you both clearly used talons first," the osprey pointed out. He motioned for Tiberius to get off Flash. Sighing heavily, the red tailed hawk released his hold. The peregrine falcon got to his feet. He was bleeding from a cut on his forehead and his back was torn up pretty good. His right leg hovered over the ground and he was missing a tail feather. Tiberius had gotten several hits to the chest and flanks. There was a cut on his neck while there was a small scratch on his cheek. Free of the owl Striker, Rosa rushed over to her brother. "Let's get you back home," she whispered. Before the siblings could fly away, the osprey approached them. "No need," he spoke softly while Flash looked at him in disbelief, "I'm a healer. Let's see those scratches."

"I'm truly sorry about all of this. Flash is new amongst us," the bald eagle apologized for the actions of his companions while the osprey examined Tiberius's wounds. Glancing over his shoulder, the larger bird grumbled, "However, Striker has been around longer and needs to learn when to not attack other people for no reason at all!"

"They were on our territory Eddie! Don't you dare criticize me just because I knew what I had to do!" Striker hissed, the owl obviously angry. The turkey vulture known as Pierre had to hold him back while the bald eagle named Eddie responded, "Look at this couple! You completely ruined their day!"

"Uh, we're actually brother and sister," Rosa pointed out.

"Dodger, you want to check my wounds? I'm bleeding all over the place here," Flash mumbled to the osprey. Whirling his head around while his body still faced towards Eddie, Striker shrieked, "You shut up! This is your fault!"

"How bout everyone quiet down?" a raspy female voice spoke.